Crime database leads Portsmouth entrepreneur to create Rejjee

PORTSMOUTH — The germ of the idea for local entrepreneur Gary O'Neil's startup called Rejjee began with the FBI's crime statistics.

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By Paul Briand

seacoastonline.com

By Paul Briand

Posted Jul. 20, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Paul Briand
Posted Jul. 20, 2014 at 2:00 AM

At a glance

RejjeeWhat: Mobile app to register, recover and replace stolen propertyFounders: Gary O'Neil and Ken SmithWeb: www.rejjee.com. The app is available for download on Google Play and the A...

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At a glance

Rejjee

What: Mobile app to register, recover and replace stolen property

Founders: Gary O'Neil and Ken Smith

Web: www.rejjee.com. The app is available for download on Google Play and the AppStore.

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PORTSMOUTH — The germ of the idea for local entrepreneur Gary O'Neil's startup called Rejjee began with the FBI's crime statistics.

He was in Charleston, S.C., he recalled, doing some research for a friend, and he was combing through the database of all types of crimes from murders to rapes to assaults to property theft.

He was at the same time awed and intrigued by the vast amount of FBI data that was just sitting there.

"So I called up the FBI and said, 'Hey, is anybody working with this database in the private sector? Is it available?' And they said, 'Yeah, it's available to anyone who can link into it,'" he said. "So we went back and looked and it and said we can make something of this."

That germ of an idea planted the seed in his marketing mind, which ultimately sprouted into Rejjee — a home inventory mobile app that eases the effort of registering personal property ...; and recovering it or replacing it if it gets stolen.

O'Neil, a Portsmouth resident and longtime New Hampshire advertising executive, is president and founder of Rejjee, which uses a logo "Tuff Stuff Protection."

Ken Smith, who has held senior management roles in seven startups in the high-tech, clean-tech and consumer products industries, is head of product and co-founder. An MIT Enterprise Forum organizer/lecturer, Smith is the technical brains behind the venture.

At first, O'Neil and Smith were thinking about a program that could help people recover stolen property.

But there are property recovery apps and programs out there using QR codes and bar codes and RFID readers. And those codes can be tampered with or even removed. And O'Neil said the data show only 7 percent of stolen property is ever recovered and returned to the owner.

"As we're looking through it, we're realizing we were going in the wrong direction," said O'Neil.

The market, they found, wasn't necessarily in the 7 percent that does get recovered but the 93 percent that doesn't get recovered.

"So off we went on product replacement and, lo and behold, no one's in that business," he said.

For people whose property is stolen, said O'Neil, replacing it can be daunting or too much of a hassle.

"It comes down to, A, people don't trust the system and don't want to go through it; or, B, they don't like dealing with the cops, period. C, there's a whole bunch of people who don't like putting in insurance claims because they know their rates will go up. And, D, some people just say, 'The hell with it, I don't want to get involved, I'll just go get a new one,'" he said.

Smith built an app and a program that basically has three functions through a smartphone: a database of possessions that people will register with Rejjee (and that can include all your personal possessions); a tool — called Blue Mobile — to report the theft of an item or items; and a replacement program (Tuff Stuff Protection) with discount offers from Rejjee's partners, who include a growing number of retailers, including Macy's, Toys R Us, Jewelry.com, Foot Locker and Golfsmith.

See details at www.rejjee.com. The app is available for download on Google Play and the App Store.

Smith went step by step through the process of adding items to the Rejjee database and using Mobile Blue to file a report of a stolen item.

The report become part of nationwide stolen goods reporting portal, accessible by police departments. If the report indicates an incident in a participating law enforcement department's zip code, that department can view the report online and take appropriate action. If a department is not registered, you receive an e-mail that includes a PDF of the stolen goods report that you can submit to your local police department or use it to file a claim with your insurance company.

"Everything is driven off the smartphone," he said. "You want one, single database."

Launched in April, Rejjee has about 200 registered users. O'Neil and Smith have been attending law enforcement related conferences to market their product.

Kensington Police Chief Mike Sielicki, president of the New Hampshire Police Chiefs Association, recently endorsed Rejjee and Mobile Blue for use by all police departments in the Granite State. And with that, his Kensington Police Department implemented Mobile Blue as its new online procedure for reporting and filing stolen property.

"Mobile Blue is going to become the non-emergency 911 for stolen goods, nationwide. The New Hampshire Police Chiefs Association is the first statewide law enforcement organization to recommend Rejjee and Mobile Blue to all of its members. New Hampshire is the first state to create access to the same standard, electronic form for filing stolen goods reports used throughout the state," Sielicki said in a statement.

Smith said they are also working with insurance companies to make Mobile Blue their default online tool for filing a claim as a way of fighting fraudulent claims.

Right now the startup is fueled by Smith and O'Neil's energy. They are looking for investors.

They have partnered with the University of New Hampshire at Manchester to create what they are calling "an early stage through completion, startup internship program."

Twelve interns from a diverse range of studies at the school are working with Rejjee on a variety of hands-on tasks and projects.

"This is a great opportunity for the university," said UNH-Manchester interim Dean Michael Hickey. "This dynamic partnership is an example of the comprehensive experiences students get at UNH-Manchester. As we are redesigning our academics to include more experiential, hands-on learning, this project will be a great model."

Said O'Neil, himself a graduate of UNH at Durham, "These are kids who are on social media, but have never done the analytics. They were blown away."

You can register up to 10 items for free; to register more items beyond that it's $1.99 a year.

At a glance

Rejjee

What: Mobile app to register, recover and replace stolen property

Founders: Gary O'Neil and Ken Smith

Web: www.rejjee.com. The app is available for download on Google Play and the App Store.